Academy announces major gift of movie posters

by jmaloni

Tue, Jan 29th 2013 04:10 pm

The Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences has announced it received a gift of 1,088 original
movie posters from the golden age of Hollywood filmmaking. The posters were
donated by Dwight Cleveland, a Chicago real estate developer, who has amassed
one of the largest and most historically significant collections of movie
posters in the world.

The donated posters
document the studio era of "B" movie filmmaking in the first half of the 20th
century and include examples from Twentieth Century Fox. A variety of genres
are represented, including westerns, war films, musicals, biblical tales, and
social problem films.

The gift, which will be
housed in the Academy's Margaret Herrick Library, fills some significant gaps
in the Academy's collection. "B-movies tap into the public consciousness and
provide rich fodder for better understanding the times," said Margaret Herrick
Library Director Linda Mehr.

Cleveland began
collecting in 1977 while still in high school, inspired after seeing film
posters in an art teacher's classroom. After moving to Los Angeles, Cleveland
scoured the once-plentiful collector's shops on Hollywood Boulevard for
high-quality memorabilia. He continues to collect today.

"I really think that
film posters are one of the very few truly indigenous art forms of our country,"
Cleveland said. "By making these gifts, I hope to excite an appreciation for
the works themselves among members of the general public and also set a good
example for other collectors."

"Dwight's collection was
a dream to receive. Not only was it very well organized, but the posters also
were in excellent shape. Our staff is fairly certain he was a librarian in
another lifetime," said Anne Coco, the Herrick's graphic arts librarian.

The Cleveland collection
has been meticulously cataloged, conserved and photographed. Posters in the
library's collections are stored in climate-controlled vaults in Beverly Hills
and may be accessed by filmmakers, historians, journalists, students and the general
public. They are frequently shown at the Academy's own exhibitions and loaned
to cultural institutions worldwide.